Château Sociando-Mallet is located in the commune of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, ten kilometres north of Pauillac, in the Haut-Médoc appellation. A document dating from March 1633 refers to land here belonging to an aristocrat of Basque origin named Sociondo. A member of his family was Bishop of Bayonne. Another document, from 1750 mentions vines belonging to Demoiselle Anne de Sossiondo. Due to various misspellings over the years, "Sossiondo" became "Sociando".
Jean Gautreau discovered Sociando-Mallet when looking for a wine estate to buy on behalf of a Belgian client. It was love at first sight, despite the fact that the property was in a sorry state. However, the terroir was excellent and the domain afforded a magnificent view overlooking the Gironde Estuary. There were only 5 hectares of vines at the time. The buildings were in bad shape and there was no barrel cellar – just a small vat room and garage. With help and advice from Gérard Cler, a previous employee at the château, Jean Gautreau made an acceptable first vintage and a superb second one. He was helped by the fact that Sociando-Mallet's extraordinary terroir, consisting of Günz gravel with clay subsoil, is propitious to growing excellent Cabernet Sauvignon and producing wines with wonderful freshness. Jean Gautreau expanded the vineyard year after year by buying vines from his neighbors. Seeking the best possible quality, he also renovated the estate’s buildings, built a barrel cellar, and gradually improved the choice of grape varieties, matching the appropriate ones to each vineyard plot.
Today, the property stretches over a total of 120 hectares, of which 83 are under vine. Jean Gautreau sold his négociant business in 2000 to focus on managing his wine estate. He passed away in October 2019, leaving his daugther and only child Sylvie the property she had been managing since 2015. She favours viticultural methods close to nature, following in her father’s footsteps, with the same love and respect of the land. She can be found participating in the various technical tastings and choosing the blend with her team.
Sociando Mallet Haut-Medoc is made from 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc.
Château Sociando-Mallet produces full-bodied wines with a deep, dark color. The complex bouquet is dominated by red and black fruit aromas with a touch of minerality, floral and spicy notes. Fresh, harmonious and nicely balanced in the mouth with a solid tannic structure and good acidity that promises a long aging potential. The mid-palate is pleasant with a nice density of fruit. A silky and fruity finish.
Red meat, dishes in sauce, poultry, strong goat or cow cheeses.
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Luis Canas Rioja Reserva is made from 100 percent 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano
A classic style Rioja Reserva from one of the regions most enduring family run wineries. The hillside terraced vineyards are sheltered by the Sierra Cantabria Mountains to the north from harsh weather extremes. Small plot production is utilized in this region of infertile chalky clay soil to produce clusters of excellent quality. Almost 900 plots are needed to complete the approximately 400 hectares of estate-owned or cellar-controlled vineyards, some with vines more than 100 years in age.
Tasting notes
Rich color. Very pleasant on the nose, subtle and elegant, complex, with aromas of fine wood, ripe fruit, coffee. Thick, unctuous and round on the palate with solid structure and juicy tannins. The second nose shows spiced nuances and black ripe fruit aromas.
Winemaking and aging
Upon entering the bodega, bunches undergo a manual selection and then individual grapes are sorted based on their weight. Following this double selection process, they are de-stemmed and crushed before undergoing fermentation and then aceration in stainless steel tanks for a total of 8 days, obtaining better color extraction as well as much more complex and tannic wines, suitable for prolonged aging.
After its primary fermentation, the wine is placed in barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation and is aged for 18 months in French (70%) and American (30%) oak barrels, then aged minimum 18 months in bottle before release.
Total acidity: 5 g./l. Volatile acidity: 0,6 g./l. PH: 3,59 Free SO2: 25 mg./l. Residual sugar: 1,9 g./l.
Excellent with red or white meats, all types of game, roasts, oily fish, rice with meat and cheese. Within Rioja cuisine it is perfection accompanying peppers stuffed with cod, artichokes with ham, migas pastoriles and trotters